This invention relates to gas cylinders, and more particularly to an improved protective device for gas cylinders.
Known designs for gas cylinder protectors comprise top and bottom steel rings welded to the resistant part of a gas cylinder. While the top ring acts as a valve protection device and has built in handles for carrying purposes, the bottom ring acts as a stand.
Typically, gas cylinders are intended for multiple uses within a deposit and return system. In order for a gas cylinder to be reprocessed, the welded top and bottom rings may have to be separated during maintenance of the gas cylinder. Generally, in accordance with the laws of the country of usage, maintenance and re-testing operations are required every ten to fifteen years. Meanwhile, the cylinder is periodically checked when it arrives at the filling station to be refilled. This checking may occur three or four times a year. In accordance with the findings of this checking, it may be decided that the gas cylinder be refurbished. In known designs, the body of the gas cylinder is often damaged in this separation process, causing the entire unit to be scrapped.
Moreover, while the top ring and the bottom ring provide protection to the valve and the bottom part of the gas cylinder, respectively, the sides of the gas cylinder are still left exposed to various environmental conditions that may detrimentally affect the gas cylinder. A further disadvantage of the steel rings is its relative weight.
During its life cycle, gas cylinders are typically refilled several times and exposed to mechanical and chemical aggressions, mostly due to poor handling and severe storage conditions. Exposures of these kinds may cause mechanical deformation and rust leading to dangerous conditions.
Accordingly, steel cylinders are periodically submitted to legally enforced visual inspection and hydraulic pressure testing aimed at the steel resistant container. Depending on the level of damage detected, cylinders may either be scraped or submitted to refurbishment operations that may include the replacement of either the top or the bottom ring or both. As mentioned earlier, the body of the gas cylinder is often damaged in this replacement process, causing the entire unit to be scrapped.
Some known protector designs attempt to address the excessive weight problem associated with steel rings welded to the top and bottom of gas cylinders by molding a synthetic mold onto the gas cylinder such that the mold is intimately linked to the gas cylinder, thereby enclosing the gas cylinder. Although, the resulting protector is lighter than one having steel rings welded to the top and bottom of gas cylinders, this proposed solution, however, prevents the steel resistant part of the gas cylinders from visual inspection without major damage to the steel cylinder; this is so because removal of the molded plastic material linked to the steel cylinder is almost impossible without causing major damage to the steel cylinder.
Furthermore, although molding a synthetic onto the gas cylinder provides protection to the gas cylinder against shock, it does so at the expense of affecting the needed heat exchange from the environment to the liquified gas within the gas cylinder.
As would be appreciated from the above, it is important to provide a protective device for gas cylinders that protects the body of the gas cylinder from damage while being light.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the invention to provide a protective device for gas cylinders that protects the body of the gas cylinder from damage while being light.
It is another object of the invention to provide a protective device for gas cylinders that protects the body of the gas cylinder from damage, is light and allows for visual inspection of the gas cylinder without damaging the gas cylinder.
It is another object of the invention to provide a protective device for gas cylinders that protects the body of the gas cylinder from damage, is light and does not affect the required heat exchange from the environment to the liquified gas within the gas cylinder.
It is another object of the invention to provide a protective device for gas cylinders that protects the body of the gas cylinder from damage, is light, does not affect the required heat exchange from the environment to the liquefied gas within the gas cylinder and renders the gas cylinder assembly easier to stack for safe storage.
It is another object of the invention to provide a protective device for gas cylinders having ergonomic grips in the top part for handling purposes.
These and other objects of the invention are accomplished in accordance with the principles of the invention by providing a full jacket protective device for gas cylinders that protects the body of the gas cylinder from damage, is light, allows for visual inspection of the gas cylinder without causing damage to the gas cylinder, does not affect the required heat exchange from the environment to the liquified gas within the gas cylinder and renders the gas cylinder assembly easier to stack for safe storage.
In accordance with the principles of the invention, the full jacket protective device for gas cylinders is provided which provides protection against shock to the steel container and valve and incorporates the functional features of the stand (bottom ring) and the handle (top ring) of the resistant steel part.
The full jacket protective device built in accordance with the principles of the invention encloses the gas cylinder, thereby providing protection against shock and direct damage to the entire body of the gas cylinder and the valve without affecting the needed heat exchange from the environment to the liquefied gas within the steel part.
The protective device in accordance with the principles of the invention comprises a top part and a bottom part forming a cavity within which the gas cylinder is placed. In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention, the top part and bottom part are both made of synthetic materials and are interconnected during assembling process by a standard functional clipping device. These clippings may be broken in order for the protective device to be removed, allowing visual inspection of the gas cylinder without damaging the gas cylinder in the removal process. After inspection, a new protective device can be easily assembled.
Furthermore, in an illustrative embodiment, the geometrical design of the top and bottom parts is such that the points at which the protective device makes contact with the body of the gas cylinder is minimized. In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention, this is accomplished by having the walls of the top part and the bottom part wave apart from the wall of the gas cylinder enclosed, thereby generating channels that avoid heat insulation and contribute to absorb shock.